Golf putter with marble head



Aug. 10, 1965 TAYLOR 3,199,872

GOLF PUTTER WITH MARBLE HEAD Filed Oct. 27, 1961 IN VEN TOR. LEWISFREDERICK TAYLOR A TTORNEYS United States Patent 0 3,199,372 GGLF PUTTERWITH MARBLE HEAD Lewis Frederick Taylor, 2821 Satsuma, Sarasota, Fla.Filed (Bet. 27, 1961, 'Ser. No. 148,236 6 Claims. (Cl. 27.3-50.5)

This invention relates to clubs used in playing the game of golf, andmore particularly to the type of golf club generally known as a putter.

In order to achieve a maximum of accuracy in putting, it is desirablethat the club have a combination of weight, balance, and rigidity, whichlend to the club a particular feel with a face on the club that issmooth and does not chip, dent or mar easily.

Efforts have been made in the past to accomplish such a desiredcombination of these qualities and the resultant feel by fabricatingputters with heads of wood, plastic or metal such as steel, brass,bronze, or aluminum.

A putter embodying this invention has a head portion formed of marblewith a highly polished face. It has been found that marble possessesqualities of strength, rigidity and resistance to impact and may beformed into golf putter heads having desired qualities of feel.Moreover, marble may be polished to an extremely smooth finish and it isnot subject to dent, scratch or mar easily.

The invention further contemplates the use of a combined weight andhandle securing means which will rigidly secure the shaft of the club tothe head portion and lend to the club the appropriate weight desired bythe player. It is therefore a primary object of the present invention toimpart to a golf putter the proper combination of weight, balance andrigidity to provide the club with the desired feel.

Another object of the invention is to reduce the tendency for the clubto impart rotational impetus to the ball, thereby increasing theaccuracy with which the ball may be directed toward the cup.

Another object of the invention is to secure the handle of the club tothe head thereof by use of a member of predetermined Weight, wherebyclubs of this type may be manufactured to satisfy the weightrequirements of various players.

These and other objects and adavntages will become apparent from thefollowing specification and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a golf putter em bodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section of a detail of the inventiontaken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded fragmentary view of the device shown in FIG. 1.

The head portion of the playing club embodying the invention isfabricated from a single, solid billet of class A dense grained marble.A socket in the upper surface of the club head is adapted to receive ashaft of the club and a weighted retaining member is adapted to fitwithin the handle and socket to secure the parts in the desiredrelationship.

Referring now to the drawings, a golf putter 10 includes a tubular steelshaft 12 and a head 14 formed of a single billet of dense grained classA marble. A pair of flat, hi hly polished playing faces 16, 18 arevertically disposed on opposite side of the head 14 and extendsubstantially the full length thereof. Those portions of the playingfaces 16, 18 adjacent the forward end of the club terminate in acontoured toe portion 29 and the rearwardly disposed portions of theplaying faces 16,

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18 terminate in a similarly contoured heel portion 22.

A blind bore 24 extends angularly inwardly of the head 14 at a pointbetween the center of the club head and the heel thereof and termniatesin a flared convex walled chamber 26. The tubular shaft 12 is of adiameter adapted to fit within the bore 24 and extends from the bottomof the chamber 26 upwardly any desired distance. Shaft 12 extends alonga line substantially parallel to the planes of the polished playingfaces 16, 18. A ferrule 28 mounted on the shaft 12 adjacent the clubhead 14 may be formed of any suitable material and is blended tocomplement the contour of the head portion 14 and lend a pleasingappearance to the point of connection between the shaft 12 and the head14.

Upon the completion of preliminary assembly of the shaft 12 within thebore 24 of the head 14, that portion of the shaft extending into thechamber 26 is internally expanded and deformed to engage the flaredwalls of the chamber, thereby securing the shaft rigidly to the head.This may be accomplished by forcing a cylindrical locking member 30, inthe form of a lead plug, down the tubular shaft and into engagement withthe end wall of the chamber 26. With the locking member 36 in positionwithin the shaft 12 and against the end wall of the chamber 26 pressuremay be applied to the upper end of the lead plug (locking member) 39 byany suitable tool (not shown) in suflicient quantity to cause the plug34 to deform thereby expanding the end of the shaft and plug 39 withinthe chamber 26 outwardly to engage the flared walls thereof.

As a result of the assembly operation, the shaft 12 is rigidly securedto head 14 and capable of withstanding indefinitely the impact andstrain to which it will be subjected in use. If it is so desired, theshaft 12, bore 24 and plug 39 may all be coated with a suitablecementitiou material which will lend additional strength to theconnection and preclude the entrance of moisture or other foreignmatter.

The lead plug 3t) may be formed in various lengths thereby rendering itpossible to control the weight of the finished club and therebyenhancing the saleability of the device by permitting the purchaser toselect a club having any weight he desires, yet still retain uniformouter dimensions of the playing device.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided aputter which embraces all of the desired qualities of weight, balance,and rigidity in an esthetically appealing and unique device. It will,however, be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the subject matter of this invention without departing fromthe spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A golf putter comprising a head consisting essentially of solidmarble formed with a highly polished play ing face, and a shaft securedto said head and extending in a line substantially parallel to the planeof said playing face.

2. A golf putter comprising a solid marble head formed with an inwardlyextending bore terminating in a flared convex walled chamber, a tubularshaft having one end disposed in said bore and said chamber, anddeformable plug mean disposed within the end of said shaft and expandedinto said chamber to retain said shaft secured to said head.

3. A golf putter comprising a shaft having secured to one end asubstantially oval shaped head consisting essentially of solid marblewith a pair of oppositely disposed smooth playing surfaces formed insubstantially parallel relation to each other and means securing saidhead and shaft portions together in the form of a deformable lead plugpositioned within said shaft and said head, said plug being of aselected weight whereby the weight of said club may be chosen to suitthe needs of the user without affecting the external appearance of saidclub.

4. A golf putter comprising a solid marble head formed with an inwardlyextending bore terminating in a flared convex walled chamber; a tubularshaft having one end disposed in said bore and said chamber; asubstantially cylindrical lead plug laterally expanded within the end ofsaid shaft to force the walls of said shaft into said chamber forsecuring said shaft to said head, said plug being of a selected weightwhereby the weight of said club may be chosen to suit the needs of theuser Without affecting the external appearance of said club.

5. A golf putter having a head attached to a supporting metal portionincluding a shaft, the head consisting essentially of solid marble, themarble extending completely from the front face to the rear face.

6. A golf putter having a head attached to a support- References Citedby the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 723,543 3/03 Knight 273l67 894,8098/08 Brewster 273 173 X 1,454,267 5/23 Challis et a1 27378 X 1,889,74312/32 Buhrke et a1. 27380.6 3,085,804 4/63 Pieper 273-l67 X FOREIGNPATENTS 4,631 1900 Great Britain. 2,003 1914 Great Britain. 692,134 6/40Germany.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner.

ing metal portion including a shaft, the head consisting 20 LEONARD W.VARNER, Examine-r.

5. A GOLF PUTTER HAVING A HEAD ATTACHED TO A SUPPORTING METAL PORTIONINCLUDING A SHAFT, THE HEAD CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF SOLID MARBLE, THEMARBLE EXTENDING COMPLETELY FROM THE FRONT FACE TO THE REAR FACE